Peru: 20 years on, trial to begin on warplane purchase bid-rigging

A group of businessmen responsible for the 1997 purchase of 36 Belarusian MiG-29 and Sukhoi-25 warplanes, for $402 million USD, one of the most iconic acts of corruption in ex-president Alberto Fujimori’s regime, will finally be called before the courts to answer for their crime.

Fujimori, along with lead advisor Vladimiro Montesinos and the military high command were responsible for setting up a false contest in order to grant the contract for the purchase of the warplanes directly to a particular group of businessmen, well known for dishing out generous bribes in exchange for various arms contracts. Among the businessmen involved are Julio Valencia Rosas, Enrique Benavides Morales, Moshe Rothschild Chassin, Fernando Medina Luna and Gerald Krueguer.

The case against these powerful businessmen has been successfully paralyzed by their actions through numerous appeals and legal actions, as well as several instances of gross mishandling of the case by the authorities, which helped to delay the case. In 2007 the case reached the Oral stages at the Anti-corruption Penal Court, with proceedings lasting nearly 6 years. In 2013, the accused successfully motioned to have charges changed to ‘simple collusion’, leading to this week’s renewal.

Full Content: La República

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